Page 90 of Down the Aisle
Much to my surprise—but not—she made her way to James after wandering for a while. I stopped the guards before they could stop her from going through, and I stood right outside the door while she had her moment with James. Was it wise to let her go in there with her abusive ex? No, probably not, but I also knew she needed this.
I tried not to listen into their private conversation, but my curiosity got the best of me. The more I listened to Eliza go off, the prouder I became of my blooming rose.
When she left the room, I let her go off on her own to reflect on my own life with her thus far. I didn't bother with finding her until it was close to lunch.
Finding her wasn't hard, but the spot where I found her was a little tense.
The words pinched at my tongue. "Mia rosa." I didn't feel worthy to say them. "Darling, it's almost lunch."
Not wanting to encroach on her space, I hung back a few feet from her on the upper deck. I kept my beady eyes trained on her backside as she stood there at the spot where James was last night. The whole deck was spotless now, not a drop of blood or a single hair to be found. Honestly, no one would ever know or guess a torture session was held here hours prior.
"Are you really going to kill him?" There was a light tremble in her small voice, and I couldn't help but wrap my arms around her to comfort her.
Carefully, I approached her with slow steps until I was right behind her. "Yes." I wouldn't lie to her, not anymore, not ever again. "He will be disposed of by the end of day seven. Shark food." Again, that last part could've been left off, but it slipped before I could help it.
It was subtle, but she did lean into me. "Is it bad that I don't feel bad? I want to feel wrong about it all so badly, but I can't find it within myself to care enough. I mean, I shouldn't be this fine with the fact of him dying or the fact that you are torturing and killing him." Her head fell back, and her torn, glassy eyes looked up at me. "Am I really that fucked up?"
Gently, I turned her around and cupped her face with one hand, stroking her cheek with my thumb. "No, darling, no. You are not fucked up. You've just gotten to the point of not caring for him because he's given you nothing of him to care about. You are done with him and genuinely don't care about him anymore. That is all," I told her with a firm smile.
Obviously, she wasn't screwed up to me, but I was a little biased. For me, to consider someone fucked up would be rather hypocritical considering things. On the other hand, if I thought they were screwed up, then they might actually be very wrong.
Shaking myself out of my head, I zoned back in on my Eliza to recenter myself. Taking in a deep breath, I leaned down and kissed her chastely. "No more about James from now on, alright?" It wouldn't do her any good to fester on the bad shit that would be at the bottom of the ocean soon.
With a reluctant smile, she agreed with a nod before looking off into the distance. "You're not going to have our children take over your empire, are you?" she asked in a worried voice, glancing at me slightly.
Assuring her with the most confident smile I could muster, I shook my head. "No, never. Asher and any of our other children will never know about my dark life, and I swear that to you." And I was a man of my word, as she should know by now.
Then, with a controlled breath, I got down on my knees with her hands held before her. "I swear, I will never bring any of it home—"
Shockingly, Eliza's hand slapped over my mouth, stopping me. "No. I don't want to hear any of it. I know I told you my conditions last night, and I have to admit, they were said in the moment." Her tongue swept across her lips, and she looked at me apologetically. "You need to do what you need to do, and I shouldn't get in the way of that. I shouldn't be stomping all over your career with such demands, and I apologize for that."
With a small smile, she ran her fingers through the top of my hair. "All I want you to swear to me is that you will never involve the children, never bring anything home unless you have to, and never talk about anything to me unless I ask. And by bringing things home, I mean bodies. I don't know all you do in your office, and I don't care if it's desk work for your legal business or mafia business, but don't you dare bring anything violent or bloody home."
"I swear, all of it, I swear to it. I agree and swear." I didn't hesitate one bit to agree to all she said. I mean, she wasn't unreasonable with her demands, so I couldn't really argue fairly with her.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the ring she gave back to me last night, holding it out to her. "So, does that mean you'll wear this again?" I asked, holding my hope in with my breath as I stared up at her with a pounding heart.
Giggling, she held her left hand out for me. "Yes, until my finger gets too swollen throughout the next nine months."
Talk about a change of subject?
"Huh?" All I could do was stare up at her with a stupid smile and confused face.
Yeah, call me stupid because it did not click at all for me at that moment.
Grinning at me cheekily, she slipped her finger into the ring before reaching down and pinching my cheek. "And the weddingis definitely not happening until next year because I refuse to walk down the aisle with a belly."
Not knowing what to say or how to respond, I stared at her with a dumbfounded face as I stood up. "W-what are you saying, darling?" Was it what I thought it was? Or did I overthink because of my want to have a child with her?
Taking my hand, Eliza placed it against her soft belly. "And you have to promise to be on nightly diaper duty and feedings." She added with a blushing smile.
Breaking out in a gleeful grin, I could hear my shout of joy boom through the air as I swung Eliza around in my arms. Attacking her with laughing kissing, I didn't relent this time when she started smacking my chest and shoulders. "Oh my God, really!? You mean it!? You're sure!?" It was so hard to contain my excitement, but could you blame me?
Eliza's mouth moved, but nothing beyond a faint and squeaky 'yes' came out of her nodding head. She kept trying to get it out of her, but her words kept coming out all high-pitched and incomprehensible because of her excitement. I think she eventually gave up when it was clear she couldn't get it through because she just grabbed my face and laid a big kiss on me. "I'm getting you all snotty and teary. I'm so sorry." She chuckled through her sobs and kisses.
Dismissing her with a chuckle and shake of my head, I continued to press kisses against her when she tried to pull away. "They're happy tears, so don't apologize." At least, I hoped they were tears of joy. We were having a completely different conversation before this, and I hoped this wasn't spill-over from it.
Smiling happily at her, I held her still in the air for a moment, admiring how the sun shined down on her and outlined her image perfectly. "When did you find out? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why didn't you tell me about the doctor'sappointment?" My curiosity quickly turned sour because I didn't like the thought of missing out on her appointments regarding our baby.
